Saturday, November 23, 2013

If you are looking
for a stocking stuffer for someone who enjoys reading fiction, I recommend
Fannie Flagg’s Redbird Christmas. This is a feel-good Christmas novel. A strong
cast of characters, including a redbird named Jack, packs its 240 pages.

Flagg wields a deft
touch in her portrayal of Southern cultures and environments. She also captures the human heart, from heartbreak to healing kindness. Set in Lost
River, Alabama, both the residents and life in the small town could have been
inspired by scenes from my childhood.

There were, for
example, my 32 aunts and uncles, all gone now. That included the in-laws
grafted into my parents’ families. All of them, except two of the spouses, were
native Mississippians who grew up on farms in tight-knit, rural communities.

Then there were the
colorful characters who were in my life during the time we spent on our
primitive houseboat on the West Pearl River in Louisiana. From my pre-school
years until Hurricane Camille smashed the houseboat when I was a young married,
my family and I spent part of every summer and many weekends at the houseboat.

We were accepted as transients
in the river culture. Whether fishing, gathering muscadines, visiting or going
to Mr. and Mrs. Blocker’s artesian well across the river for potable water,
small boats and outboard motors were a part of our life.

I treasure
experiencing the visit to Flagg’s fictional Lost River, where engaging and amazing events unfold. It was a good read that also resurrected those childhood memories for me. The only regret I have about
this book is that in a fit of making room for more books, I turned it into our
library’s paperback one-for-one swap section. I may just buy it for my Kindle
and read it again during this Christmas season.

11 comments:

I think you have to tell Santa, (hubby) that you need that precious book for Christmas. It is more than just a story to you. A hard copy would be great for your shelf but the Kindle would be kinder to you right now.

You have a beautiful way with words Linda. Keep writing, I enjoy coming here so much.

Between having 12 for dinner Thursday night, (our small group) and doing the dinner for Celebrate Recovery at our church last night, (we had to step in because the leaders are in Arizona to be with their Dad in his last days) and my being under the weather...not much blogging or just cruising the internet has happened.

i just heard a doctor talking on talk show today that said we should all have favorite books that we keep and read again and then again. he said it is healthy. getting it for the kindle is great. i love to read books that bring back my memories to.

She is one of my favorite writers. She has a new one just out."The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion"Sounds like you could write your own Flagg type book. What a wealth of experiences you have to draw from.